Friday, February 09, 2018

Nymph Restocking

Been riding for a number of years the approach of use what's in the box and fish them well. The SE MN fly swap inspired me though to do some tying. These are basic baetis-looking nymphs. They look a lot like many of the bugs that hang in the interstices of our streams. Time-saving step is to use the vinyl rib instead of dubbing and wire for the abdomen. I really like the segmented look and the fact that it's a lot narrower than the thorax. Wing cases of turkey or krystal flash. Tail is the same turkey feather. Dubbing is a mix of peacock ice and black. Hooks are 14-16; probably good to do some 18s too. No head cement necessary because when fished well they should be lost to the benthos before they come apart. A wingcase will pop now and then if a fly grants you a longer-than-average-life-of-service. After setting the materials straight on the table and getting into it, this is pretty much a 3-4 minute pattern.